Adams' Apple-Cart (John Coolidge, that is!)

[not edward]

I think Adams is aware that to a certain extent he has written himself into a corner. That's why he's produced pieces like Absolute Jest, where he's trying to do something different (though this particular work is to my mind an unremitted disaster from start to finish, it's to his credit that he did attempt something different).

I think the best music he's written in the last 10 years is contained in Doctor Atomic, where he's allowed his post-Bergian side to express itself and shown that he can write lyrical, highly chromatic music. It's perhaps a shame that he excised the second movement from the Doctor Atomic Symphony: my view is that this decision considerably truncated the dramatic arc of the work, making the finale far less impactful, not to mention removing some fine music that is otherwise unlikely to be heard in concert.

[Karl Henning]

I think Adams is aware that to a certain extent he has written himself into a corner. That's why he's produced pieces like Absolute Jest, where he's trying to do something different (though this particular work is to my mind an unremitted disaster from start to finish, it's to his credit that he did attempt something different).

I think the best music he's written in the last 10 years is contained in Doctor Atomic, where he's allowed his post-Bergian side to express itself and shown that he can write lyrical, highly chromatic music. It's perhaps a shame that he excised the second movement from the Doctor Atomic Symphony: my view is that this decision considerably truncated the dramatic arc of the work, making the finale far less impactful, not to mention removing some fine music that is otherwise unlikely to be heard in concert.

Overall, your post aligns with what has gelled as my Adams thesis: a composer capable of genuinely good work, but upon whom you cannot rely to make the most artistic decision.

Doctor Atomic . . . I heard it at Symphony Hall, the Symphony. I fear it struck me only as B.A.U. Adams.

[Ken B]

Overall, your post aligns with what has gelled as my Adams thesis: a composer capable of genuinely good work, but upon whom you cannot rely to make the most artistic decision.

Doctor Atomic . . . I heard it at Symphony Hall, the Symphony. I fear it struck me only as B.A.U. Adams.

BAU?

[Karl Henning]

Business As Usual

[Ken B]

Business As Usual

Ah. Yeah, that sums it up pretty well.

[Mirror Image]

There's nothing worse than BAU Adams...lol.

[Karl Henning]

A professor whom I assisted while doing my Master's at UVa had a sign on his office door: "Sometimes I just riff."

[Mirror Image]

A professor whom I assisted while doing my Master's at UVa had a sign on his office door: "Sometimes I just riff."

[Karl Henning]

. . . Not only that but there are many other works in Adams' oeuvre that deserve some attention in terms of recordings like Harmonium for example, which only has two recordings if I'm not mistaken (Waart/ECM and Adams/Nonesuch).

I discovered the disc obliquely (I was looking for the Oliver Knussen/ASKO Ensemble recording of Louis Andriessen's De snelheid) . . . but this also has Harmonium (BBC National Orchestra & Chorus Of Wales, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Grant Llewellyn):

[not edward]

I have that disc... sitting in a box somewhere.

Anyway, for those who are interested, the original, four-movement Doctor Atomic Symphony, with the LSO conducted by the composer:

https://mega.co.nz/#!DIoAkb7b!OIpGvglMiZZ2DSb7hHgs3N83kC2dNhTjEOmHzIoxWl8

[Karl Henning]

Thanks!  I shall look into that when I am home this evening.

[Mirror Image]

I discovered the disc obliquely (I was looking for the Oliver Knussen/ASKO Ensemble recording of Louis Andriessen's De snelheid) . . . but this also has Harmonium (BBC National Orchestra & Chorus Of Wales, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Grant Llewellyn):

Very nice, Karl. I would love to hear your opinion of the performance once you listen to it.

[lescamil]

I bought that disk years ago, and only for a performance of Louis Andriessen's De Snelheid, which is supposedly the piece John Adams was thinking of when he wrote Short Ride in a Fast Machine. It would make sense, given that they both have an incessant woodblock throughout the piece, and speed is a key element (de snelheid translates to "velocity"). The performance on this CD is a bit sloppy, but I've spoken with Andriessen before, and he says that this performance is just how he likes it. He says he prefers a rougher, more visceral performance of his works. Buuuuut, this thread isn't about Andriessen...

[Karl Henning]

I bought that disk years ago, and only for a performance of Louis Andriessen's De Snelheid, which is supposedly the piece John Adams was thinking of when he wrote Short Ride in a Fast Machine. It would make sense, given that they both have an incessant woodblock throughout the piece, and speed is a key element (de snelheid translates to "velocity"). The performance on this CD is a bit sloppy, but I've spoken with Andriessen before, and he says that this performance is just how he likes it. He says he prefers a rougher, more visceral performance of his works. Buuuuut, this thread isn't about Andriessen...

I must revisit De snelheid, but I recall thinking much better of it than of A Short Ride.

Edward, thanks again: will give that a listen this weekend.

Separately, I find (much to my surprise) that I have Klinghoffer, complete. I've not listened to it complete, just to the odd chorus. Someday I shall listen to it; but not this season.

[Ken B]

I must revisit De snelheid, but I recall thinking much better of it than of A Short Ride.

Edward, thanks again: will give that a listen this weekend.

Separately, I find (much to my surprise) that I have Klinghoffer, complete. I've not listened to it complete, just to the odd chorus. Someday I shall listen to it; but not this season.

Save for a rainy day; sometimes they need ruining too.

[Karl Henning]

Nice!

I do foresee a long stretch where I simply have things I'd rather do than devote a couple of hours to static Kling.

[jlaurson]

On Forbes: The Met's Klinghoffer Brouhaha


direct link

[Karl Henning]

This week I've been re-visiting El Niño, and it was ultimately a worthwhile endeavor.  My opinion, my ears, but the piece still fits my "Adams model" of [some genuinely excellent work] mitigated by both [stretches of BAU (business as usual)] and [But does it seal the deal as an Overall Composition?]

So, what was good about the process was, that the long stretches, entire numbers, which (basically) soon grow uninteresting to me (and never quite recover), I endured, and found the odd number in the whole which is Adams at his best (it happens too seldom, but it does happen).  A fellow composer really likes this piece, and now I can have a reasonably informed conversation with him about it.

I may not come back to this for another two or three years;  and there is still the question Were even the best bits worth the tooth-pulling?  Not sure that there was actual redemption.  But I did discover some excellent Adams hidden away amid all the dross.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Is Harmonielehre becoming standard rep? Grant Park and the CSO are both doing it this year. Respectively, in August (Kalmar) and in October (Salonen). I can't decide whether to go to one or the other or both!

[Mirror Image]

Is Harmonielehre becoming standard rep? Grant Park and the CSO are both doing it this year. Respectively, in August (Kalmar) and in October (Salonen). I can't decide whether to go to one or the other or both!

I would go see Salonen in a heartbeat!